Childcare support funds squandered on entertainment expenses
Prosecution demands 15 years imprisonment for both parents
A couple with seven children stood trial after neglecting their eight-year-old son, who suffered from a kidney disease, for a long period, leading to his death, and habitually beating multiple children.
According to the legal community on the 11th, the Criminal Division 2 of the Gangneung Branch of Chuncheon District Court held the first trial for the couple, Mr. A (36) and Mrs. B (34), on charges including child abuse resulting in death under the Child Abuse Punishment Act. Despite knowing that their son C (8) had a kidney disease, the couple neglected and abandoned him for a long time, resulting in his death on April 4. The indictment also included charges of child abuse causing serious injury under the Child Abuse Punishment Act for neglecting their daughter D (4)’s eye disease.
The couple, Mr. and Mrs. A, raised seven children including C and D, and from January last year to April this year, they neglected and abused their children. Investigations revealed that the couple raised their children in poor living conditions without heating, filled with garbage and mold. The couple did not even have a washing machine at home, so the children could not wear freshly washed clothes, yet they enjoyed smoking and drinking alcohol at home. They used child-rearing support funds for entertainment expenses, and when the funds ran low, they opened mobile phone accounts under the children’s names and resold them to cover living expenses.
The couple admitted to all the charges brought by the prosecution. During the trial, which proceeded directly to sentencing, the prosecution requested the court to sentence Mr. A and Mrs. B to 15 years in prison each and impose a 10-year employment ban in child-related institutions. The couple said, "We reflect on our past. We failed to be responsible parents," and added, "We are sorry to the children and want to return to them. We will live so that this never happens again."
The prosecution also requested a 7-year prison sentence for acquaintance E (33), who was arrested and indicted for repeatedly abusing or threatening the victim children while living with Mr. and Mrs. A, under the Child Welfare Act, and a 5-year prison sentence for another acquaintance F (35), who was indicted without detention for the same crime. Currently, the prosecution is in the process of requesting the Korean Family Law Counseling Center to file for the loss of parental rights of Mr. and Mrs. A, and it is reported that the victim children are staying in an orphanage.
The sentencing trial will be held on the 22nd of next month.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
